Key takeaways
- Specify porcelain (water absorption ≤ 0.5%) for floors, not wall-grade ceramic
- Fix size, thickness, finish and slip rating before asking for prices
- Insist on one firing batch for the whole project, batch-marked on cartons
- Packing decides breakage — pallets, foam corners, edge boards, desiccant
- Containers are usually weight-limited, so large formats ship cheaper per m²
1. Fix the specification before you ask for a price
A tile quotation is meaningless until the specification is fixed. These are the fields that change the price by more than 100% between two suppliers:
- Body: porcelain (full-body or glazed) vs ceramic vs wall-only white body
- Format: 600×600, 800×800, 600×1200, 750×1500 or 900×1800 mm
- Thickness: 9 mm is standard; 10–11 mm for heavy commercial traffic
- Finish: matt, polished, satin, structured, bush-hammered, wood-look
- Edge: rectified (sharp, tight joints) vs unrectified (needs a wider joint)
- Shade variant: how many faces per design (V1 uniform to V4 heavy variation)
- Slip resistance: R9–R13 for anything that sees water
Send photos of the space and one reference tile if you have one. A supplier who has shipped to hotels will normally propose two or three options at different price points rather than one number.
2. Indoor and outdoor are different specs
The most common mistake on villa projects is using one specification everywhere. Interiors can take a polished or satin porcelain; anything outdoors needs a matt or structured surface and a frost-resistant body. Pool decks need a higher slip rating than a covered terrace. This is covered in detail in our article on choosing outdoor and patio floor tiles.
3. Samples and shade batching
Always approve a physical sample, not a photo — screen colour is not a specification. Once approved:
- Ask for the whole order to be produced as one batch.
- Have the batch/lot number printed on every carton.
- Keep 5–10% extra tiles as spares from the same batch for future repairs.
- If the order is split across two batches, keep wall and floor, or room by room, within one batch.
4. Packing: where breakage is won or lost
A container of tiles travels for weeks and is loaded and unloaded several times. What protects it:
- Cartons on pallets, not loose-stacked floor to ceiling.
- Foam or cardboard corner protection on every pallet.
- Edge boards so straps do not cut into the outer cartons.
- Stretch film around pallets, plus strapping to the container floor rings.
- No voids: gaps between pallets let the load shift; fill them.
- Desiccant bags — humidity softens cartons and stains the face.
5. Container maths
Rough planning numbers for a 40 ft high-cube. Actual figures depend on thickness and packing method — treat these as ballpark, and ask for a loading plan before you commit to a container count.
| Format | Typical load in a 40 ft HC | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 600×600 mm | ~1,600–1,900 m² | Weight-limited; the workhorse format |
| 800×800 mm | ~1,300–1,500 m² | Slightly fewer pieces per pallet |
| 600×1200 mm | ~900–1,100 m² | Fewer joints, fewer pieces to lay |
| 750×1500 mm | ~700–900 m² | Large format; needs levelling clips on site |
Because tiles are heavy, most containers hit the weight limit before they run out of volume. Mixing tiles with bulky, light goods — sanitary ware, doors, cabinetry — is how you get full value out of the freight. That is the subject of how many categories fit in one container.
6. Inspection before packing
Have goods checked against the approved sample before they are packed, not after they arrive. What to check:
- Size tolerance (typically ±0.5 mm on rectified tiles) and diagonal difference
- Flatness and edge straightness
- Water absorption (porcelain ≤ 0.5%)
- Shade consistency against the approved sample, across a full pallet
- Firing defects: pinholes, glaze crawling, warping
- Faces per carton and square metres per carton match the packing list
7. Documents you should receive
- Packing list with square metres, pieces, cartons and batch numbers per pallet
- Commercial invoice and bill of lading
- Certificate of origin
- Test report covering water absorption, slip resistance and size tolerance
- Photos of the packed pallets and the loaded container
Photos of the load are worth asking for: they show you the packing quality before the ship sails, while there is still time to do something about it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ceramic and porcelain tiles?
Porcelain is fired denser and has a water absorption below 0.5%, which makes it frost-resistant and suitable for floors outdoors. Standard ceramic absorbs more water and is best kept indoors on walls. For villa and hotel floors, specify porcelain.
Why do tiles arrive broken?
Almost always packing rather than firing: cartons stacked without pallets, no corner protection, voids inside the container that let the load shift, or humidity softening the cartons. Foam corners, pallet film, edge boards and desiccant fix it.
Do I need to order all tiles from the same batch?
Yes. Every firing batch is slightly different in tone. Ask the supplier to hold one production batch for the whole project and to mark batch numbers on the cartons, so extra boxes ordered later match what is already laid.
How much does a 40 ft container hold?
Roughly 1,600–1,900 m² of 600×600 mm tiles, or about 900–1,100 m² of 600×1200 mm. It is usually weight-limited rather than volume-limited, so larger formats are more economical per square metre.